Jeremy Payne wins his fourth IMCA Modified Duel in the Desert

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Duel in the Desert winner Jeremy Payne.
JEFF SPEER

Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Missouri, won the 2013 edition of the Duel in the Desert for IMCA Modifieds tonight at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tonight's victory marked his second consecutive Duel win and fourth overall. He once again collected $7,777.77 for his efforts.

Terry Phillips started the 40-lap feature from the pole position, flanked by Dominic Ursetta. Phillips jumped out to an early lead as Jeremy Payne moved past Ursetta for second place. Payne caught Phillips on lap 7 and the battle for the lead commenced as the pair pulled away from the pack. At the halfway point, Phillips continued his domination of the feature with Payne staying within striking distance. With 10 laps remaining, the leader encountered heavy lapped traffic, allowing Payne to close the gap. Payne made his move in Turn 2 and grabbed the lead from Phillips. Phillips refused to give up the fight and remained glued to Payne's rear bumper as Jeff Taylor, in third place, was catching the leaders. Payne collected the checkered flag, followed by Phillips and Taylor.

"That car was awesome. It's an awesome night," said Payne. "You always want to be pretty close to the leader when he gets into lapped traffic. I could get some runs on him early, then he'd get away. I settled down and found a groove and it was awesome."

The 16th annual Duel in the Desert attracted 246 IMCA Modified entries from 21 states and three Canadian provinces. The Sport Mod class set a new Duel record for entries with 74.

The 25-lap Sport Mod feature was won by Dean Abbey of Waco, Texas. Abbey started the feature race from the pole position, flanked by Chad Dolan. Abbey checked out on the field and left a four-car battle for second place in his wake. A caution flag on lap 8 bunched up the field but Abbey managed to pull away again. His romp was thwarted once again by a four-car accident on the back straightaway and resulting red flag on lap 9. Once again, Abbey motored away in the low groove, leaving Tyler Frye to try the high groove in second place. Jake Krone ran alone, a distant third. With just a handful of laps remaining, Frye successfully used the high groove to catch Abbey. Frye jumped the cushion in Turn 2 with two laps remaining. The miscue was costly as Abbey was given the breathing room he needed. Frye finished second and Krone was third. Krone's car later was disqualified after failing to pass post-race technical inspection, moving Chad Dolan up to third.

"This feels great," said Abbey. "We came out here last year with a new car and finished fourth. It feels good to come back out here and win a race. I figured he (Frye) was back there and I knew my motor was laying down. I was just gonna do the best I could and hold onto it and see what happened."